Too Little Too Late
by blu3crush
Summary: (Completed) - After Sara left Las Vegas again, things change. And now she is back again for a short trip, would her biggest secret she had been keeping be let out of the bag? COMPLETED.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything. :)

"This will be the last time I am asking you this. Are you willing to take a chance to go off with me? Go somewhere else other than here. To a place where we can see the sun instead.

He pondered. His heart told him to agree with her suggestion but yet his mind told him not to. There were just too many unknowns in following her suggestions. Giving her the "you-should-have-known-it-better" look, he gave her an ambiguous answer.

"Not now, honey."

He was unable to give Las Vegas up. He was unable to leave the team now. The team needed him here. And he needed Sara to stay here with him to give him support.

"Can you please give me a better answer?" Sara cried. Her voice was breaking and her tears threatening to flow. She wanted to leave this place for somewhere better. This place weighed her down.

"Please just give me an answer." Sara pleaded.

Grissom cupped both side of his face, and whispered a soft no.

"Why?" Sara swallowed hard.

"I am old. I am not up for adventure. I am not willing to give up familiarity for something new. I am not ready to leave the team yet." Grissom emphasized on the yet. He hoped that Sara would get his meaning. He would leave this place with her but the timing was just not right.

"And I can't leave the team now after what happened to Warrick," he hoped he could knock some sense into Sara. He hoped that he could convince Sara to stay here.

"Wouldn't here remind you of him more? This place is too much for the both us. I am afraid that the longer we stayed here. Our love will suffer. This place is suffocating us. I am not telling you to do something radically different. I am just asking you to move to a place far away from deaths or crimes." Sara choked, tears flowing out.

Their love.

A love they worked so hard to attain.

"And where is that place?" he looked at Sara intently and asked. If she could provide him any good answer, he was definitely most willing to leave this place with her. Sara was dumbfounded by his question.

She knew that she was unable to give him a satisfying answer.

"I don't know. I just want to leave." She answered truthfully. As a matter of fact, she just wanted to leave this place. She wanted to take the easier way out. When she first left Vegas, she felt liberated, happy and most importantly she was no longer having any nightmares. She could sleep peacefully and would not wake up in the middle night.

"Then leave."

Grissom felt tired. He was unwillingly to persuade anymore. He knew that asking Sara to stay was difficult. He was willing to let her go, to let her enjoy the sun and be happy.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, "if I am holding you back from a greener pasture, which I don't want to, I am willing let you go. I am letting you be the woman before Vegas. You are so much happier before I asked you to work here."

"You are right. I was happier back then. "Sara turned and begins to walk towards the door.

Pausing slightly before opening the door, she hoped that he would ask him to stay. She was more willing to stay if he asked her to. She knew that she was silly and desperate but all she needed was affirmative answer from him.

"Good luck with finding a place without any deaths."

He gave her a strained smile. He hoped by asking her to leave, he would be selfless. He wanted her to be happy. He did not want her to stay and suffered or worst self-destruct.

"And you too. I wished you all the best." Sara's brows were furrowed together. She decided to fight one last battle.

"You do understand that once I walk out of this door, our relationship ends. There would be no chances of turning back. No apologies would remedy it."

Looking at his reflection off the tainted window intently, she waited for his request to ask her to stay. However, his actions disappointed her. He just mouthed his goodbyes and apologies.

Sara walked out of the room and she felt so broken. Her heart would never be in one piece ever again.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAP 2

I changed my first chapter to 3rd person perspective. I do not own anything.

Please give me some feedbacks. Thanks. :)

* * *

Grissom's world was crumbling down when he returned for home. Workplace was his sanctuary. He felt miserable and alone when he entered. His Sara was missing from their home.

Feeling lonely, it was a first time after so long. When he asked her to move in together, he realized he was no longer lonely. He had her by his side, had her in his bed, sleeping together and hugging each other.

Unlike the first time, she escaped from Vegas; she took away most of her belongings. What were left; was the robe she always wore and her toothbrush. This showed him her determination that she won't be back. She had closed the door.

And he realized, this time round, it was not the same. He felt angry, at her and mostly at himself. He hated her for taking the easy way out and he was angry at himself for not asking her to stay in Vegas.

He saw her hesitations; he knew that she was begging him to ask her to stay. And he knew, when he asked, she would. But, could he do that to her, knowingly that it would cause her to self-destruct. He would not. He wanted her to be happy.

Placing his nose near her robe, he took a deep sniff. He wanted to breathe in her unique scent. He smelt only detergent. He just realized she never wore this robe when she was back the short while. He scoffed at his silliness.

What had happened to him? Whenever it came to Sara, he lost his common sense and rationality. He put the robe back where it belonged. It belonged in his wardrobe.

He rested on the sofa flatly, feeling drained. His migraine was coming back to haunt him again. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping that this would chase it away. She was not there to massage his forehead anymore.

She would sooth his migraine with her skilful hands. Those touches were gentle and light. After the relaxing massage, she would gently plant a kiss on his forehead. He would always fell asleep on her lap. She would count his wrinkles and traced his face to pass time. She liked watching him sleep peacefully. She was happy that he trusted her enough to do that.

But this time, she was not here to do that anymore.

* * *

Earlier prior he left the office; Conrad had asked him to clear Warrick's locker. When he was in the locker room, the team were watching out for him, giving him support. Though they tried hard not to stare, and tried to ignore his presence, he knew that they were all watching. They wanted to talk to him but he shook his head subtly. He wanted to be alone.

"Grissom, want to go for a bite? We are heading to the new diner." Catherine asked. She was not sure what tone should she use. She decided to be impassive.

"I had a long night. You guys go ahead." He was thankful for Catherine. He knew that she wanted to include him for the team events. She did not want him to be alone. But today, it was not a day for any team events. He needed some times alone to clear his locker.

"Take care, Griss," they chorused before leaving the locker room.

He started to put Warrick's stuffs into the box. It was just like the time when Sara first left Vegas; he was given the task to clear her locker too. Unlike Warrick's, her locker was void of personal belongings.

The only lone thing left was their photo that they took 2 years ago. It was a candid shot. Brass had captured that photo on his cell and sent it to Sara.

He sighed and pulled that photo off.

Now, that photo was side by side the photo they took about 10 years ago.

10 years ago, they were happy. Big smiles etched on their face. She looked innocent then.

2 years ago, although it was a candid shot, they both looked grave and sad. It seemed that smiles were a distant thing for them.

He pulled off the 2 photos from the refrigerator and chucked them into the fridge. He decided that he did not need the photos to remind him of his pains. He decided that he should also try to shut the door too.

After a few days of working double shifts, his body started to protest to him. His eyes would be watery after looking at the lab reports Hodges had gave him. His knees and ankles were sore from standing and squatting in the field. His arms, no doubt, were in pain too.

Catherine had caught him at his worst when she saw him popping a few painkillers.

"Don't tell me you eating all these painkillers. They are bad for your health. All you need is a good night rest. Please go home and sleep."

Grissom looked at her, and smiled.

"I am alright. I just need some of these to relief my aches."

Catherine gave him an once-over, "Griss. Please take care of yourself. You are very pale. You are not going to work your ass off to forget about Sara. If you feel miserable, just go for her."

Grissom inhaled a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He heard the name after so long.

Sara; it still managed to tug his heartstrings. It was so painful.

"No. I am fine. I hope she's fine and happy." He tried to keep a strong composure. He did not want anyone to catch him at his weakest.

Catherine sighed inwardly.

"For your information, she's currently in a forest for a research project. She liked it over there because she is doing a study on primates and some exotic animals. She sounded so excited and happy."

Grissom smiled.

"Thank you. I am happy when she is happy."

"Whatever. If you are giving up without a fight, then this will be better for Sara. She would be happier." Catherine snapped. She was so annoyed by his façade. She knew that he was miserable but unwilling to admit.

"I gave the chance up when I asked her to leave. Cath. I do not have the luxury to go after her and ask her to come back. All I could do now was to let her go and let her be happy."

Grissom offered a simple explanation, though he knew that this was not enough for Catherine. But he wanted her to stop stabbing his heart with Sara's topic.

"Fine, Grissom. Just fine. Suit yourself."

Like Sara, his right hand woman had left him alone in the room. He felt he was destined to be alone.

This was the first time, he regretted letting Sara to enter his heart. This was the first time, he moaned for the loss of his fiancée.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAP 3

As usual, I don't own anything. :)

Do leave your comments.

* * *

Greg rapped his fingers on the table impatiently; he was waiting for Sara's video call. It was like 1 month plus since they last talked on the phone. Their last phone call ended with him begging her to do a video conference. She acceded when she could not endure his whines. She told him she could only do that when she was not in the forest. The month long wait was pure agony for him. Greg had always liked Sara. He loved her cleverness and her mind. He was bitter when she left Las Vegas again without telling him goodbye.

His computer beeped and he saw a notification. He clicked on the agree button happily and waited for Sara's image to pop up. When he saw her image loaded, he exclaimed.

"Hey!" Sara smiled excitedly. The smile was so wide that Greg could not recognize. He realized he did not have the chance to see that smile when she was in Vegas. Perhaps the runaway trip was doing something good to her.

"You look great," Greg praised her and gave her a huge goofy grin. She promptly thanked him and wanted to know the team wellbeing.

"They were all fine. They seemed to be alright. But well… uhm… except for…" Greg paused, not knowing whether to tell Sara about Grissom not. But he decided not to give her any more troubles.

"Me," he lied.

Sara frowned. "What's wrong Greg?"

"You came and left so abruptly. I was sad that you did not mention that you are leaving. I thought we are family?"

Sara apologized and told him that she needed to leave alone without any goodbyes. If she, for one moment, tried to say goodbye; she would not be to leave. She was afraid the determination would ebb away when she saw them.

"Well, what's done was already done. I won't blame you. But can you tell me where you are now?"

Sara tucked her hair behind her ear and wondered how to answer his questions. She carefully composed the answer as not to give away too many details. She wanted to be vague.

"Well… I am at a small town up south now. I am enjoying the sun and sea here. The research project ended and I decided to take some times off before finding another job.

"What an answer. I wanted an exact location, Sara." Greg tried to force the exact location out but Sara refused to provide any more information.

"What I said is enough. And I am moving soon."

Greg admitted defeat; he knew that he would never be able to force something out of Sara if she did not allow anyone to do that. She was this stubborn.

"Well, you know, you are looking a little chubby," Greg commented after making observation that Sara's cheek was puffed and a healthy glow surrounded her.

"Greg, you know I would kill you when I am back, right?"

Greg eyes light up when he heard she will be back. Looking at her with hopeful eyes, he asked her when.

"Metaphorically." Sara crushed his hopes.

Greg pouted his lips, "please come back soon. I miss you."

Sara gave a curt nod but made no definite promises. "When I can, I will."

"How're you?" A simple question threw Sara off guard. Ever since she left Las Vegas again, she kept herself busy. She did not how to answer a simple how are you question. She never stopped and wonder is she fine. Is her leaving the right choice or of best interest. Would she regret her decision? She never stopped and thought about it.

"Fine." A simple fine would suffice. She guessed. She did not want to reveal too much things. The hurt was still raw. She wanted to avoid those questions for as long as possible. But Greg's questioned forced her to think about it.

Greg rolled his eyes and said he was expecting more than fine.

"As a matter of fact, I had not really thought about this question's answer."

"Oh."

"Why leave again?"

"I guess I wanted to be free and happy. Pre-Las Vegas." She offered the simplest version of her answers.

"I hoped you are."

Sara gave him a huge grin. "I got to go now. The sun is setting and I do not want to miss it."

"Believe me when I said I miss you all, every single person. I really meant it."

She bade him goodbye and promised to give him a call again soon. And he wished her good luck and stayed happy.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own anything as usual. =D

Do leave your comments, pretty please. =)

* * *

Sara sat down on sand, her legs close to her chest, watching the waves crushing on the beach. She felt therapeutic. When she was here, she realized she loved the sand and beach. Suddenly, she wanted to just stay here and do nothing.

After getting off the call with Greg, she was wondering how she really was. Was she really happy? She did not know but she did know that by doing this she was really much better off.

It was better for her well-being. She did not think she would self-destruct in this beautiful place. She decided that at least at this place, her murder gene would not re-surface.

She remembered discussing the murder gene topic with Grissom after letting him into her heart, her past and traumatic childhood. She felt vulnerable when she confided. He would nod and squeezed her hand at the appropriate time. She welcomed his support and needed it.

He told her that was no such thing as Murder Gene. Sara begged to differ now. The past month, her murder gene was in rampant. She actually contemplated to kill. She thought of taking a life away, and that was the equivalent to murder.

She mocked at the irony. She, Sara Sidle, who once claimed she would never take life, was actually thinking and capable of doing that.

_"Miss Sidle, are you sure you want to do this? Do you need more time to think?" Her doctor asked. _

_"I, uhm, perhaps need more time. I guess I am silly. I still can't make up my mind. I will let you know when I see you next time." _

_Sara's doctor nodded, and beamed. "This will be great."_

Could she do that? Taking a life away?

"Hello," a child's voice greeted her. Sara looked at the little girl who was now sitting beside her.

"Are you talking to me?" Sara pointed to herself and asked the girl. The girl bobbed her head energetically.

"This week I am supposed to cheer a sad person up for me to gain my girl scout's badge. And I saw that you are sad."

Sara was surprised by the little girl's observation. As much as she wanted to believe that she was happy, she was actually unhappy.

"How did you know I am sad?"

"I don't know. I just feel. I will give you a piece of chocolate. Can you be happy?" the little girl passed her a piece of chocolate and gave her a toothy grin. Sara accepted the chocolate and thanked the little girl. The little girl gave her a bear hug. "Be happy!" she said.

"I will. You really cheered me up."

The little girl exclaimed and asked Sara to sign her Girl Scout book which Sara agreed readily.

Sara was glad that the little girl came up to her and gave her hug. This allowed her to make a decision.

She decided to keep her baby. That was the only link between Grissom and her. As much as he had hurt in the worst possible of ways, she still loved very much. And if she could not have Grissom by her side, at least the baby would.

She did not realize she was pregnant until she was back in the forest. She had fainted when she was taking photos of some monkeys. The team rushed her to the doctor who stationed at the forest. They gave her congratulations when the doctor announced she was about 6 weeks pregnant.

She was really surprised about it. When she was back in Vegas, Grissom and her only did it once. She was giving him comfort after Warrick's death. And that was the only time they forgot about protection.

When Greg commented that she looked chubby, she was really worried that he could pick up that she was actually pregnant. But luckily for her, Greg was a little dense when it came to these things.

She thought about whether to let Grissom know about the baby. She knew that Grissom would come for the baby. She knew that he would take up the responsibility and give Las Vegas up. But that was not what she wanted. She wanted him to leave Las Vegas on his own accord and perhaps for her.

And she could not tell Grissom about the baby. She was afraid that he could come only due to the baby. She was afraid he would blame her for it, and worst hate her.

She was so afraid that she decided to keep the baby a secret.

She knew that she was selfish to rob her baby the right of a father figure but she definitely did not want the baby to born into a family where the father did not love the mother. It would be a dysfunctional family. At least, she knew that she could love the baby with the capacity of both mother and father.

And she knew she could do it, with or without Grissom.

And to love her baby wholeheartedly, she needed to keep her love for Grissom buried deep in her heart.


	5. Chapter 5

As usual, I don't own anything.

Do leave your comments.

A big thanks to who had taken the efforts to leave comments for me. I really appreciated it. I would continue with this story. It's just that I am still undecided about the ending.

PS: Don't kill me for doing this. I never believe he would do that too. But when you are most vulnerable, you would do some silly things. So just view it as he did something silly, his heart was blinded with pains. Alright?

* * *

"Heather, could you please stay?" Grissom begged; it was been a long time he had beg anyone. He did not beg Sara to stay. But tonight, he felt exceptionally lonely. He felt miserable. Even his work was no longer his safe haven, it reminded him too much of Sara, and of Warrick. He could not stay at his home. Every corner reminded him of Sara.

She could be at their library place, reading. She could be at the kitchen, trying out a new recipe. She could be at their bed, watching Godzilla. And she would always comment that she pitied the monsters.

He could not take it anymore.

Heather complied and closed the bedroom door. She slipped into the bed and wrapped her arms around Grissom. He welcomed the hug; normally he would flinch at any person attempt of close proximity.

"I…" he choked on his tears.

"Grissom, you can always be yourself when you are with me. Just cry. There isn't a need to pretend in front of me."

Heather soothed, and tightened her hug. She knew that at this point of time, Grissom was at his weakest. He turned around and faced Heather.

"I am tired. I am burned. I am missing her. I regretted letting her in. I should not have done that in the first place."

Heather said nothing and just listened. She was his listening ear tonight. She knew that he needed ears tonight and not advice. She knew something was wrong when he knocked on her door. Though citing that he needed help for work, but she knew better.

"It was like she took everything away from me. Sometimes, I could not focus on my job. My job, it is my pride. But I would found myself wandering off, thinking of her smile, her actions and her scent." Grissom continued to talk, felling flustered. He knew that if he did not get this off his chest, he would probably self-destruct.

He needed any comfort tonight. He thought of going to Catherine for comfort but Catherine was still pissed off with him. Nick would not understand and Greg was angry with him for letting Sara go. He had no one but Heather to turn to.

Heather wiped off Grissom's tears and stared at him. "Are you feeling better?" Heather asked. Grissom nodded and his eyes were locked on her lips.

"I did tell you this right. You have beautiful lips." His gaze never wavered. Her lips were tempting and inviting. Blinded with loneliness, he found himself drawing her close and locked his lips on hers.

Her lips were soft. He let out a soft groan.

"Grissom. Please don't do anything you would regret." Heather spoke when Grissom crossed the line. His hands were roaming up and down her back. She was afraid if she did not stop, she would actually try to dominate.

Heather had always found Grissom fascinating and charming. The first time they spent the night together; it was magical. It was the first time she had slept with a man who was not her clients.

And now, he was seducing her.

"I won't."

"You will. Think of Sara."

Mentioning Sara was a huge mistake, Grissom did not stop. Instead he straddled Heather and looked at her intently. He gently pulled off Heather's gown and planted a kiss in the middle of her chest.

"I want you."

Heather pulled him down and gave him a deep kiss.

"Sara…" Grissom let out a soft moan when the highest moment reached. He did not realize he had shouted Sara's name. He did not open his eyes when they were doing the act. He had imagined the woman under him was Sara.

He remembered when Sara was back; she had initiated making love with him. He still remembered her lavender soap scent, her soft skin and her lips.

"Grissom." Heather pushed him off and a lone tear rolled down her eyes.

"I am sorry." He apologized, feeling guilty.

Heather swallowed hard, "let's sleep."

Grissom obeyed, not knowing what to say. Another round of apologies would potentially damage their friendship. And he did not know after this, would it stay as friendship or would it be complicated.

He dared not think. At this very moment, he needed someone beside him. He needed someone's comfort.

He would make it up to Heather tomorrow. He promised.

* * *

Next chapter, would move us forwards to 3 years later. But on and off, there will be mentions of both Sara and Grissom life in terms of flashback.


	6. Chapter 6 Part 1

As usual, I don't own anything. If I own, Grissom will be back.

This will be a bridging chapter. It's set to be 3 years later. And for this bridging chapter, I choose Greg as the main character of this chapter. And, the most important, is because I really do like Greg. His laid back and goofy character. And his secret stash of coffee.

It will be more neutral than Grissom or Sara. It would be a long chapter, though. Sorry about that.

I still haven't really thought why Sara left Grissom. I was watching CSI S09E02 when she packed up her bags and left. I got this little story inside of my mind. What if Grissom never went to find her, what would actually happened?

But I guess sometimes when you feel like leaving a place, you just leave. For Sara, Vegas became a burden and it suffocated her.

As for why did Heather came into the last chapter, was they left a door open for CSI S09E05. He asked her to stay and never elaborated on it. I would never know what they did. So with a little of my imagination, that happened. I never wanted to portray Grissom as someone so easy. But she's Heather. She had a 'relationship' with him. And I read wikipedia about them, they said they did sleep together but it was never supported with any sources. And I sincerely believe that Grissom is a faithful man in CSI. And I hoped they bring him back for a few episodes in season 13.

I hope this chapter is not too abrupt. I don't want to be a nag to tell every single things that happened. So I just move forward and important details will be explained in terms of flashbacks.

It's break up into 2 chapters; so it would not be too tedious to read. The next chapter will be up soon. =D

Do leave your comments. Thanks.

And this is dedicated to my readers who had subscribed, commented and favorite this story.

* * *

Greg saw Catherine entering the break room, anger was written all over her face. He wondered who had piss Catherine off. His thoughts floated to Grissom immediately. Only Grissom could do that. He saw her clutching and relaxing her fists, and he wondered should he talk to her. Or should he escape from the break room.

He thought about the consequences and chose the latter. He tried to leave the room quietly and hoped that Catherine would not catch him doing so.

"Greg Sanders."

Shit, he mumbled. Catherine caught him sneaking away. He turned and smiled sweetly to Catherine.

"What's wrong?"

She handed him an elegant wedding invitation card. Greg looked at the name of the couple who were getting married, bewildered.

The wedding card invitation read 'Gilbert and Heather's Wedding.'

"I am the second in command, and he asked me to do such menial tasks. And what is he even thinking? He must be suffering from Alzheimer. Had he forgotten that I had seniority over here? He could get Judy to do this but why me?" Catherine let out angry complains.

"Catherine, stop. Is this for real?"

"Evidently," Catherine rolled her eyes. Sometimes she could not stand Greg's denseness. He was good at doing CSI work but sometimes he could be so dense. Had he not heard the rumours that Heather had moved in with Grissom? Had he not heard about the rumours that Heather might be pregnant but suffered a miscarriage due to her medical conditions?

Greg stared at the wedding invitation angrily. To the contrary, he had heard about all the rumours and he had tried to filter them. He could not believe that Grissom, the person he respected, would do such a thing to Sara.

He never thought that he could connect the word betrayal with Grissom. But now he could.

"Why?" He found himself asking Catherine, wishing that Catherine would offer him a good answer so that he would not lose all respect for Grissom. "Sara had left for too long. It had been 3 years and no one, including you had information about her. She disappeared, Greg. She removed all of us from her life."

No, she did not completely disappear. Greg thought sadly. Occasionally, he would receive a postcard from her. The message would be 'Take care. And be happy.' Although, the card was not signed off as Sara but he knew that the cards were from her. He recognised her handwritings.

They had shared a relationship more than friendship. It was like siblings. They were both single child and during the years she was here, they shared little secrets and small talks. He was affected the most by Sara's leaving. No one in the team could understand why.

"Do we have to go?" Greg asked wistfully.

"As much as I don't to go, we have to." Catherine shrugged and left the room to continue the task Grissom had entrusted her.

Greg's phone vibrated and indicated there was a new email.

'Greg.

It's Sara here. Sara Sidle? Ring a bell?

I am back in Vegas for a short while.

If you still treat me as a friend, can we meet up for brunch?

The place where Nick loses his car?

10 am?'

Greg just could not wipe off the silly smile he had when he saw the email. Sara's back at the right time. He could get Nick and Catherine to meet up with Sara. They would be very excited to meet her.

He quickly composed a reply for Sara and mentioned that he was very excited to see her email and also stated that he blamed her for being out of contact for so many years. And he also thanked her for the postcards.

###

"Nick, Catherine!" Greg called out excitedly, rushing into the locker room. He wanted to catch them before they went home after the shift.

They looked at him, irritated. They wanted to go home and sleep. The team was short of staffs and Grissom never did anything to recruit any new staffs. He always said Warrick and Sara void; no one would be filled up their place. Catherine had complained to him and asked him to move forward but he refused defiantly.

"Brunch together?" he asked with puppy eyes. Nick and Catherine rolled their eyes and told him no firmly.

"With Sara?" Greg continued.

Both of them looked up. "Sara?"

Greg nodded earnestly. "She emailed me. She said she is back for a conference and would like to meet for brunch."

"No. I am not going to meet her for brunch." Catherine said, flatly. Slamming her locker door shut, she picked up her purse and walked out of the room. "Catherine…" Greg grabbed hold of Catherine's arm, attempting to stop her from leaving.

"What?" Catherine barked.

"Please…Sara's one of us."

"Yes… Catherine, let's not miss this chance of meeting up with her. I don't know when will be the next time we can see her. Plus, you can take this chance to scold her or do whatever you want with her too." Nick added.

"You are right. I can slap her. Let's go." Catherine rubbed her palms, evil glints in her eyes.

"Well… Catherine, you won't do that right?" Greg is worried that Catherine would actually hurt Sara.

"What do you think?" Catherine flipped her hairs and walked out of the room. "Let's go now." She urged.

###

TBC.


	7. Chapter 6 Part 2

2nd part of the chapter 6.

Thanks for the support. And do leave your comments.

As usual, I don't own anything.

* * *

Sara was sitting at their usual booth, waiting anxiously for Greg to turn up. She had read his email and felt guilty for staying out of touch for such a long period. However she smiled when he mentioned about the postcards. Whenever she was travelling, she would personally pick up a postcard and send it to him but she would not sign off her name. She just thought this was a way of letting Greg know that she was fine.

She had played out some scenarios of what to talk to him when he arrived.

Should she hug him and apologize? Or should she joke with him? Or should she wait for him to react?

Frankly, she did not know. All she could do now is to wait.

###

Greg saw a lone figure sitting at that usual place. "That's Sara," he exclaimed loudly and pointed them to Sara's direction. He realized Sara's hair is longer now, touching mid-back. And, she had worn them in a loose ponytail.

He remembered Sara told him that the reason why she never grow her hair long.

_"Just imagine, your hair touching the decomp fluid."_

Greg pulled Nick and Catherine into the diner excitedly.

"Sara!" Greg shouted.

Sara looked up from her cup of coffee, and gave them a smile. She did not know should she stand up and gave each of them a hug or should she just say a simple hi. Truth to be told, she had only expected Greg.

"Hmm, uhm, hi." Sara fidgeted uneasily.

"You looked so different!" Greg pulled her up and enveloped her with his arms. He wanted to ensure her that she was welcome. Sara gave a relief sigh and tightened the embrace.

She had missed Greg, a lot. So much more that she had imagined. She missed Greg's energy. A positive energy.

The silence was awkward when they settled down in the booth. Not many words were exchanged after the ordering of food. They could only looked at each other and while Sara kept stirring her cup of coffee.

"Well, how have you been? Don't leave out any details." Greg asked, breaking the silence.

Sara focused her gaze on Greg and thanked him for helping out.

"Well, after the research project, I actually took some times off to spend my times in a beautiful town up south. Basically, when I was there, I just ate and slept. And I spent most of my time there to enjoy the sea, sand and the sun. Actually when I left the place, I was 2 shades darker. But I liked the tan, you know. It made me look healthier." Sara paused slightly to look at her audience.

"But the sad thing was my savings took a huge dip and I realized I needed to find a job soon. And coincidentally, the project manager called me to offer me a job as an assistant professor at NYU. And while I am at NYU, I was given the scholarship to study my post graduate degree over there. And I am currently waiting for my promotion to finalize." She continued.

She left out one very important detail, and that was her daughter. She was not ready to let them find out about her. She was not sure if they could keep a secret for her. Her daughter was her refuge and her support for these few years.

And she knew that if she told them about her daughter, there would be chaos in her life. She had kept her daughter safe from chaos and anything bad in general. And she intended to keep it that way.

"Why are you here?" Catherine asked, coldly. She had not warmed to Sara. She still felt Sara's betrayal. Sara's leaving had stung her badly.

"I am here for a conference. It's just a short trip. I am returning to NY tomorrow. I just thought I could meet up with you all before I leave. "Sara explained softly, and began to play with her food. Playing with her food was a sign that Sara was anxious.

"Orh, Did I mentioned that Grissom is getting married to Heather next month?" Catherine threw her invitation card towards Sara.

Upon hearing Grissom and Heather, Sara dropped her fork. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself down. After so many years, Grissom still had a huge effect from her. And her heart hurts so much when she knew that he's going to marry Heather.

"That's good. They are wonderful together," Sara picked up the invitation card and took a look. She had to act strong in front of them.

Inside the invitation card, there was a photo of Heather and Grissom smiling blissfully. Reading the contents of the cards almost killed her. The woman could be her but now she was replaced by Heather. And the worst thing, their wedding date is the same as her daughter birth date. The day she almost dies when giving birth.

She felt the bitterness in her heart. She felt her heart was breaking again. But she had to act as if she did not care. She had to brace herself up. She could not afford to shed a tear in front of them. She could cry when she's back in the hotel. She could cry a river and no one would know.

Greg's brows furrowed together and stared at Catherine, and lend a supporting hand to Sara.

"Sara, if you want, I could tell Grissom you are back and the two of you can patch up from there."

Sara shook her head vehemently. She did not want to disrupt anything over here.

"I can't do this." Sara's head dropped, feeling defeated. For the past 3 years, she had never thought that Grissom would actually move on from her. And, she was actually the one who was stagnant for 3 years.

They continued their brunch in silent. Sara was glad that they did not make any more small talks. She knew that if she tried to talk, her voice would be shaky and any moment she would actually cry out.

"Take care," Greg gave her a bear hug before leaving the diner. She sent them away and began her walk back to her hotel.

At this very moment, her façade broke down. The big fat tears she had tried so hard to contain, just rolled down her cheeks and she did not care what does the others thought about her. She just wanted to moan for her lost love.


	8. Chapter 7

This is just a short chapter on Sara.

This story would be ending in 4 more chapters or 3 more chapters.

So, do show your support through comments.

As usual, I don't own anything.

While waiting for the next chapter to be uploaded, can please support my another story, "From The Heart". It featured Sara and Greg. Currently, it's a one shot but I am working on Sara's POV for that story.

So do support! Thanks.

Flashbacks are in _italics_.

* * *

When Sara returned back to her hotel room, her eyes were both red and swollen. The short walk back had drained her, her tears were still flowing and she wanted to hear her daughter voice badly.

She dropped dead on the bed, clutching her chest; she felt something was missing from her heart now. For the 3 years, she had always consoled herself that one day she would return and reunited with Grissom. But now, she guessed she was a little too late. She closed her eyes and thought about her past with Grissom.

#

Their relationship had started when she was attacked by Adam Trent. She saw his concern look when he asked the guard to open the door. Though she was alone with Adam Trent and with the shard of pottery at her neck, oddly, she did not feel afraid. It was because he was standing outside and she knew that he would do anything in his power to save her.

After that attack, he had sent her home. The journey home was silent, he not knowing how to approach the topic with her, and she wanted to stay silent.

_ "Sara," he broke the silence._

_Sara shifted her gaze from the outside window to Grissom and mumbled a weak yes. _

_"I can't afford to lose you." He said, with difficulty. He was not a romantic person and definitely did not know how to ask her to be with her. All he could manage was telling her he can't afford to lose her. _

_"Oh." Sara smiled. _

_"As a CSI, or a friend or something more?" _

_"Everything." He gave her a small smile. _

Since that day, their relationship had evolved.

_#_

_"Grissom," Sara placed her hands on Grissom's back, giving him support. Sara knew that Grissom was visibly shaken. She had never seen him like this before. He had always been a calm and poised person. _

_ "We had rescued Nick." she said simply. _

_"Come on, I will send you home." Sara offered. Grissom accepted her offer and her hands. They walked out of the office together, his fingers entwined with hers. _

#

_"Do you want to save some money?" Grissom asked, looking at Sara who was eating cereals on his bed. He had brought her breakfast in bed. _

_"What do you mean?" Sara peered up from her breakfast. He loved her au naturel look, without a hint of make-up. _

_"I mean. You can move in with me. And you can save on your rent money. Our house is big enough." Grissom explained. _

_'Our house' Sara thought, happiness surged in her heart. He never said it was his house but it was our house. _

_"Oh. Sure." _

_That's how he asked her to move in with him, though unromantic, but she knew he took a huge leap of faith. Inviting her to stay with him meant that he opened his life to her._

#

_"I am not ready to say goodbye," she said. They shared a flirty look and then a deep kiss. _

#

She laughed as she remembered her past with him. The laugh was not because she felt sweet but she felt pathetic. They shared so little happy memories. Their memories are normally fuelled with angst or angers.

Sara curled up into a ball on the bed, watching the videos of her daughter. She missed her daughter and wanted to hold her daughter close to her. She could look into her daughter's eyes and see him.

She wondered if she had not insisted on leaving, would the ending be different.

'Yes.'

Her daughter would have him to call dad. Her daughter would not bear the brunt of the stigma of not having a father.

Her heart ached when her daughter came home from the playgroup, crying. Her daughter had asked where was her daddy was. And she was rendered speechless by it. She could not told her she was the one bent on leaving her daddy and did not see there was a need to involve him in their life. She hugged her daughter and cried. She regretted for being such a selfish mother.

Her daughter needed her father.

But it was all too late now and she could not walk back to his life now.

She had thought that he would wait for her to come back. She had taken him for granted. She never had given Heather a thought. He had always said that Heather was a good friend and there was nothing more than between them. There had always been something between them. She knew about their one night together when they discussed about Heather.

_"No it wasn't one night stand. It was more like; we needed each other that night. But things went downhill afterwards," he explained, drawing circles on her arm, trying to get her attention on something else other than Heather. _

_"Well… you slept with her," Sara smacked his hand away and looked into his blue eyes. _

_"Enough with Heather. What about Hank and you?" He countered, his eyes filled with mischief. He knew that Hank was a taboo topic. _

_"Well, let's sleep." Sara laughed and drew the covers over them and pretended to sleep. _

And any further discussions about Heather would end up with him asking her about Hank and she would avoid the topic too.

"Bye, Gil, my one and only love."

* * *

Preview for Chapter 8:

Greg knocked on the door anxiously, when the doorbell did not do the work of getting the owner to answer the door. He had followed her back the hotel. He told Nick and Catherine he had left something in the diner and asked them to leave without him. He had followed Sara back to her hotel.

Would Greg save the days?

I hope he did. :)


	9. Chapter 8

Hey! I am pretty sure at this point of time, when the story is going to end, you all would have an idea of how you want this to ends. Right? How about you all let me know if you want a happy ending or a sad endings?

Chapter 10 would be the ending and Chapter 11 would be the epilogue. So do let me know how you preferred?

Thanks. Do leave your comments to let me know.

As usual, I don't own anything. :D

* * *

Greg knocked on the door anxiously, when the doorbell did not do the work of getting the owner to answer the door. He had followed her back the hotel. He told Nick and Catherine he had left something in the diner and asked them to leave without him. He had followed Sara back to her hotel.

Call it his CSI mind; he knew that something was wrong with Sara. He saw her eyes, and understood the pains she was in and the show she had put up for them.

And now, he was standing outside Sara's hotel room and waiting for her to open the door.

"Sara, open the door. I know you are inside. Just open the door."

"Go away, Greg," her voice was cracked and hoarse from the crying. He knew that she was still crying.

"Open the door or I will use my authority to get someone to open the door." Greg threatened, and rapped his fists on the door loudly.

Her room door cracked open a little, she stood behind the door, refusing his entry. Her eyes were swollen, face paled and her chest was heaving with huge sobs.

"Are you happy to see me in this state now?"

Greg pushed his way in. When he was inside, he held Sara close to him.

"When you want to cry, you don't cry alone."

Sara cried in his chest and mumbled things he could not understand. Sara's tears soaked through his new shirt but he did not mind. He knew that she needed someone to hold her.

"Thanks Greg."

Sara finally calmed down and her eyes were on the floor. She did not know how to face Greg now. She felt embarrassed. She actually cried on his chest. She smiled awkwardly when she saw the huge tear stain on his shirt.

"I will pay for your clothes."

Greg led her to the bed and got her to sit down. He sat down beside, his arms around her shoulders and waited for her to talk.

"I am just, uhm, emotional. I don't know what went wrong with me. I knew that he would move on. But I just feel it was so, unfair. Never in these few years, had I stopped loving him. It was buried somewhere. I am waiting for him to find me but he did not. He was a good CSI and those postcards I send you. I thought he could connect the dots."

Greg stuck his tongue out, "Sara, you know I never show anyone the postcards."

Sara peered up and squeezed out a reluctant smile, and told him it's alright.

"You need any help in getting Grissom back?"

Sara bowed her head low and played with her fingers. "I don't want to disrupt anything. I thought perhaps, our fate ended 3 years ago when he asked me to leave. Not perhaps, now it's affirmative. I just want to go back to NY tomorrow and continue with my life there."

Greg heaved a sigh. He knew that nothing he said would change Sara's decision. He knew better. When Sara made a decision, no one would be able to change it.

All he could do now was to embrace Sara and consoled her.

He looked around the hotel room and saw a photo by her bed stand. It was picture of Sara carrying a toddler in the beach, smiling widely at the camera. The toddler looked just like Sara and Grissom.

He swallowed the lump that was building in his throat. "Who's that toddler with you?"

Sara looked over to her bed stand. "She was someone I saw at the beach." She lied. She could not bring herself to confess to Greg that was her daughter.

"She looked like you and Grissom. Her eyes gave away everything. For god sake, I am a CSI! I knew better." Greg curled his fingers into fists and grinded.

"I am telling Grissom. He deserved to know." He stood up and headed for the door.

Sara grabbed Greg's wrists to stop him from leaving. "Please. No." She looked at him with her eyes, filled with sorrows and pleaded him not to. Greg tried his best to contain all the rage in. He was furious with Sara for going through the pregnancy and giving birth alone.

"I am angry with you. You shut everyone out and went through it alone." His nostrils flared, and his eyes dilated with angers.

Sara apologized, with tears welling in her eyes.

"What's her name?" he asked, gently. When he saw the tears, he softened. He could not stay angry at Sara for long. He always had a soft spot for her.

"Gillian Sidle."

"You called her Gil for short? I guessed." Her lips curled into a smile with pride, "she is my only link."

Sara tried to suppress her yawns; she did not want Greg to leave tonight. She wanted someone to stay with her until tomorrow. She was afraid that she would dial the number she memorised by her heart and break down to Grissom. She could not risk it. She felt guilty for using Greg as a float to avoid drowning in the ocean; she just could not drown now.

"Go and rest, Sara," Greg patted her head gently. "I will be here till you ask me to go. I will send you to the airport tomorrow morning." Sara complied and allowed Greg to help her to bed.

"I am sorry. But at the same time, I am really thankful for what you had done for me. Greg." Sara slowly drifted into her dreamland. Watching her in a peaceful slumber, he knew that he needed to do something. He just can't watch her go back to New York alone, heartbroken.

He needed to tell Grissom about it. At least, that was all he could do for her.

He took the photo by the bed stand and Sara's hotel room key card, and stride out of the room quietly. He drove to Grissom's townhouse with loud rock metal songs accompanying him. He allowed the loud music to drown out his thoughts. He could not afford having a second thought.

He knew Grissom needed to know.

But, Grissom was the one who gave up. He had his chance but he did not treasure it.

But he, Greg Sanders, would die for a chance to be with Sara Sidle. Should he just made a u-turn and returned to Sara's bedside to wait for her to wake up. At least they could start from there.

No, no, no. His mind told him no. He could not take advantage of this. He just could not.

He pressed hard on the accelerate pedal. But he knew one thing for sure, what he had for Sara was not just siblings love. It was something more.

If Grissom did nothing after he told him about Sara, he would.

Greg jabbed at Grissom's townhouse door bell long and hard. He did not release the doorbell until someone came to answer the door.

"Greg?" Heather's face was annoyed and surprised. Ever since Sara had left, Greg had kept a distance between Grissom and him. She wondered what brought him here. "Where's Grissom?" Greg asked. He looked into the living room and did not see Grissom in. "He's in the study room. May I know why?" Heather did not make a room for Greg to enter; she wanted to know what brought Greg here.

"I just need to see him. Can you please move away?"

Heather, sensing his anxiousness, moved away from the door, and allowed Greg to enter.

"Down the hall, the first room to the left."

When Heather moved in with Grissom, she had only one request and it was to revamp the townhouse. The library Grissom and Sara shared was moved to his study room. All his bugs and butterflies frames were stacked in the storage place. She had thrown out their bed and replaced it with a 4 posters bed. Any trace of Sara was removed from the house.

Greg looked around the house, and it reeked of Heather. The house had Victorian touches all over it. It was very 60s. He remembered Grissom townhouse had modern touches and filled with bugs, vegetation and butterflies.

"Grissom."

Grissom looked up from his computer, and was genuinely surprised by Greg's arrival. Their relationship had cool to a point where they just talked over cases and no friendly banters were exchanged. And Greg had been so professional with him that he no longer made jokes on his results.

"Greg, what brings you here?"

"As much as I don't want to be here, but I got to. This is for you. Go figure. Her flight is tomorrow morning 10am. She is going back to New York." Greg placed the photo he took from Sara's bed stand on his table.

"I hope you do something to it." Greg turned and made his way out of the townhouse. He threw a stare to Heather was sitting at the balcony, sipping tea.

He got to make his way back to the hotel before Sara wake up.

xXx


	10. Chapter 9

As usual, I don't own anything CSI. :)

* * *

When Greg left, Grissom stared at the photo frame, unsure of what he should do with it. He thought about what Greg had said. "_Her flight is tomorrow morning 10 .a.m. She is going back to New York." _Did he dared hoped that Greg meant her? Can he wish? He chided himself. He's too old for wishes, too old for hopes and definitely not entitled to wishes. Three years ago, he had hurt someone he love so deep, he had already loses the entitlement to be hopeful or happy.

When he sucked in a huge mouth air, and wanted to pick up the photo, Heather entered the study room. For most of the time, Heather would not come into his study room. He had made it clear to her that this was the only room she could not revamp. He will be the one who designed and build according to his wishes. He had given in to her request of changing his modern town house to a Victorian style.

He owed her too much to turn down a simple request.

"Griss. What did Greg wants? He looked pissed off when he left." She asked; her eyes on the photo frame that was lying on his table. Suddenly, he felt defensive; he did not want her to see the photo. He should be the one who looked at the photo first. He controlled the urge of grabbing the photo and kept it in the drawer. He could look at it later.

Against his wishes, Heather picked up the photo, examined it. Her face registered shock, her mouth agape and unsure what to say. Grissom watched her expressions; suddenly he was very interested in that photo. How a simple photo could cause Heather to be in a shock?

Deep inside his heart, he knew it must be about her, Sara.

"Heather, what's wrong?"

Heather. He called her Heather. He never gave her any pet names. He could not bring himself to call her Dear or Honey. Those pet names were reserved someone he kept deep in his heart.

Heather closed her eyes, wished that this was a bad joke or a bad dream. She wished she could not connect the damn dots. It was so obvious. The kids had his eyes and his chin. Her lop-sided grin was so Sara. And she was worried that Grissom would drop everything to go find them. She couldn't afford to lose him. Over these few years, she had grown dependent on him.

"Griss, I think you need to take a look at this." Heather passed him the photo frame unwillingly. She recoiled a little when Grissom's hand brushed past hers. She glanced out to the window and waited for Grissom's response.

Grissom raised a brow and took the photo frame from her. He put on his reading glass and looked at the photo with interest.

In the photo, stood a woman, whom he had loved and missed for the past 3 years. And she was accompanied by a little girl with ash brown hair, round baby blue orbs and thin upper lips. They were smiling happily, basking under the sun.

And then he realized.

The little girl was his daughter.

Upon observing Grissom, Heather found no emotions or words that could describe Grissom's face. He was calm, oddly calm.

"Griss. She's your daughter, isn't it?" She bit her lips, waiting for the sentence to sink in fully.

"I think so. Heather." There were millions of questions running through his mind now.

When was Sara pregnant? How? And why she did not tell him about this?

Perhaps, the when and how could be explained. It happened the first day she was when Warrick died. She had initiated the act and at the heat of the moment, they forgot about protection.

But why she did not tell him? Did she know that he would like to be a part of their life? Did she know that he had always wanted a daughter? Evidently, she did not. But he could not blame her for that. They had never discussed anything about their future life. They had focused on the present and not the future. They felt that there wasn't a need to discuss anything too remotely far. As no one can predict anything that could happen, they just wanted to live their life as it was.

She just disappeared for 3 years and reappeared again one month before his wedding. Had Greg told her about it? If she had known, how was she reacting? Was she sad? Was she going to do something about it? No. She was not going to do anything. He thought bitterly.

"What are you going to do?" Heather's question broke his train of thoughts, startling him.

"I…" his voice trailed off, trying to search the right words to tell Heather. He realized anything other nothing would hurt Heather. And he could not do that. Heather was the one who had been supporting him through his darkest moments.

"Please, Griss. No. You know I can't lose you. Not after, our child was gone. I can't." Heather broke down, her hands clutching the sides of her head.

Grissom sighed. Their child was gone due to his insistence, unlike what others in the lab had been discussing. He had received pitiful stares from Catherine when she learnt about the death of his child. What she never knew was he had been the one who insisted on the abortion. He would always doubt his real intention of asking Heather to abort the child.

Was it because of her medical condition?

Or was it he had only wanted a child with Sara only?

"_Heather, you know you would not be able to carry the baby to full terms. Your body could not take it. It is just too dangerous. Let's listen to the doctor advice. Let's have an abortion." Grissom held onto Heather tightly, trying to talk senses into her. _

"_I can't. Not after Zoe." Heather broke free from Grissom's hold. She could not do it. She wanted this child. Although this child was just technically an embryo now, she had already fallen in love with her child. _

"_Please I can't risk losing you."_

"_I will think about it." _

"Griss…" Heather called, snapping him out of his thoughts. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. Heather. She is going back to NY tomorrow. We can figure this out after the wedding." Grissom ensured, stood up from the chair and went over to Heather. He crossed his hands around her waist.

"I won't leave you. I promised you that when we took away our child's life. I will be here for you, always." He whispered gently into her ears.

He wished that by reminding himself of his promises to Heather would make him stay here.

And one thing he was sure was he was unsure how would Sara react if he show up tomorrow. He did not need any more uncertainties in life any more. He could figure all out after the wedding.

However, a question was eating him up.

'Did he want to marry Heather?'

"_Griss. What do you think about marriage?" Heather, sipping her cup of tea, and approached this topic cautiously. Grissom put his book about bugs down and thought about the question. _

_He, once, had proposed to Sara in the most unconventional way. When she accepted, he was thrilled, happy and many wedding plans running through his mind. He thought about a lavish wedding, a church wedding or a simple ceremony with their close friends. _

_But now, he never thought of it since she left. _

"_Marriage is a bonding between 2 persons who are ready to take the next step to accept each other families into their life. And accept each others at their worst." He answered. _

_She smiled, a little too sweet, for her character. _

"_How about we get marry?" Heather proposed the question. _

_He glanced at his finger. The gold ring Sara bought for him after he proposed was still on his finger. He never took it off. She said he looked good with gold and it was old-fashioned and he would not find it out of place and hinder him from work. He wondered if he was ready to take it off and replace another one. _

"_Griss?" _

"_Sure." Although he knew that he was not ready to take it off but he needed to. Heather needed him and so did him. She was like his life-jacket in the cold ocean. _

_Heather gave him a wide smile, "can we go shopping for rings? I find the one you had on the finger ugly. And who got you this?"_

_He frowned. He liked gold and old-fashioned ring. It was perfect for him. But he said nothing but nodded. _

"Please don't leave me… and our child…"

"Our child?"

"I may be pregnant." Heather favoured him with a bitter smile.

xXxXx

"Greg, do you know where my photo is?" Sara asked, after settling in Greg's SUV. "I took it. I wanted see my god-daughter everyday," He lied smoothly. "When is my Gil your god daughter?" Sara asked. "Since yesterday. I don't care. She's my god-daughter. I am going over to New York next month to visit the two of you. And I do need your address and contact." Greg chuckled.

"Do you doubt me? I had already passed you all my contact information and my house address. Don't you worry; I won't be fleeing again, not with a kid in tow." Sara smiled a little; guilt can be seen on her face.

"Let's go. It's a long trip to the airport." Greg started the vehicle.

"Sara… do you think if there was no Grissom… would… you like me?" Greg stuttered, his knuckles turned white as he was gripping the steering wheel a little too hard.

"Hmmm. I had always liked you, in a capacity of friend." Sara said.

"Oh."

When they reached the airport, Greg helped Sara with her suitcase, and they took small strides to the departure area. Greg's eyes darted around, looking for Grissom. He felt conflicted, one side he wished that Grissom would come and the other side wished he would not.

"I think that was my last call. I got to go now." Sara took over her suitcase from Greg and gave him a hug.

"Thanks. Greg. Thanks. You are always there. And you never shun me away when I returned unannounced. I am glad that we are still friends. Do come visit me in New York. My house has a guest room you can sleep in. And you can play with God-daughter. She had a science kit given by my mentor and his wife. You can play that with her."

"I will be there next month. I have enough leaves to stay there for at least one month. Anticipate me." Greg punched Sara's arms lightly.

"Well… we can accommodate you as long as you don't make bomb with my Gil. I want my house intact."

Greg nodded too readily. Sara was unconvinced. "Just make sure my house is intact."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye. Take care." Greg gave Sara a light peck on her right cheek.

Startled by his actions, Sara moved a few steps backwards and touched her right cheek. Greg flashed a toothy grin and held his hands up to surrender. "Sorry. Go on in. Your flight would not wait for you."

Greg pushed Sara into the departure gate and waved goodbye frantically. He felt a pang of sadness to send Sara back to New York but at least he will have his chance next month. Grissom had given up his chance. He had given him a chance to make everything right but he didn't.

If Grissom couldn't, Greg could.

A month with Sara and Gillian.

And he hoped that things would change for the better.

* * *

Hey if you like it, do leave me a comment... the next chapter would take a little longer, I am still working on it. I still don't know how to go on with that...


	11. Chapter 10

…One month down the road…

They took small strides towards the park, with Gillian in between them; they each took a hand of her. Upon seeing the playground, Gillian struggled free from their grasp. Her eyes were gleaming with excitement and rubbing her palms together in excitment.

"Mummy, can I? Please?" Gillian looked at her mummy with huge puppy eyes, waiting for Sara's permission to play in the sand. "Dada!" she cried when Sara did not respond. "Just go!" Greg laughed and sent Gillian away.

"Sara, loosen up… it's just sand and kids are entitled to play in sand. And, it's her birthday today! She is sad that you banned us from making small bombs. She is one smart kid, well considering her genes, that was no surprise." Greg said.

"Well… she is wearing her finest dress and later we are dinning at one of the best diner in New York." Sara cringed when she imagined her daughter's dress dirty and crumpled.

"We can always go to another one which doesn't mind dirty kids!"

"Yea, right…" Sara looked over her shoulder and saw her daughter playing happily with another girl and decided it was all worth it. Her daughter had been laughing more since the arrival of Greg. She had meet Greg through video conference and called him 'Dada' when she learnt that he was her god-father. To Gillian, anything that resembles a father is good enough for her.

"I am glad you came by for holidays. She seemed to be happier. Plus, she had been bugging me how many days before you arrive here. And if you don't come soon enough, she wanted to go to Vegas…" Sara smiled.

xXx

"Where's Greg? I think I had not seen him for a week now," Brass asked. "He said he was going toNew Yorkfor a holiday." Nick offered while fixing his bowtie for the umpteen times. "He's not coming for Grissom's Wedding?" Brass questioned. Nick shrugged and sighed exasperatedly and threw the bowtie away. "Do you think this suit look alright without the bow tie?"

"I am going to Grissom's side. And please, get Catherine to help you with the bowtie." Brass turned and headed for the door.

Brass entered the room where Grissom was at and studied his pal from behind. His friend shoulders were bunched high and his neck taut. He realized that perhaps after all Grissom did not to go through the wedding.

"Brass, you have been watching me." Grissom half turned and stared. "What's wrong, buddy? You don't look excited?"

"Sara." Grissom stated simply. His doubts, the knots in his stomach were all because of Sara.

Brass just nodded. He had heard from Catherine that Sara came to Vegas for a few days. He knew Catherine would not keep mum about Sara's return and understood the turmoil his friend was in now.

"I don't know what I should do… I owe Heather too much… but my heart is with…" Grissom reached in to his left pocket and took out a photo. He passed it to Brass. Brass took the photo and examined it intently. His mouth formed a huge o when he connected the dots.

"Well… I would say follow your heart. Is Heather the one you love? Pal, I knew that Sara is still the one you love. And if you do go through this wedding and everything would be too late. And honestly, I still think maintaining a sports car is easier than Heather. Do you know where she is now?" Brass patted Grissom gently. Over these years, he had seen Grissom drowning, and used Heather as a float to keep afloat and he knew this lavish wedding was a warped way of repayment. He knew deep in Grissom's heart, Sara was still in there. He just needed to give it a nudge.

Grissom gave him a bitter smile. "New York."

xXx

Greg and Sara sat down on a bench which was near Gillian. Sara pulled out a bottle of mineral water from her bag and passed it to Greg. Sara stretched a little and took in a deep breathe and commented, "Although the air is not top notch, but I think it's much better in Vegas…"

"Well… I can always stay here. I love the dynamic over here." Greg said and gulped a big mouth of water. "Tell me more stories about Gillian and you." Greg asked when Sara did not response to his previous comment.

"For the one week you are here, I had told you a lot. Are you sure you want to hear more?" She raised an eyebrow, looking at Greg. He nodded earnestly, "I am interested to know. Tell me more about you."

Sara tilted her head aside, "alright…"

"I was stumped when the medical team asked me to list someone as an emergency contact. I could not find someone. I was new here. I can't possibly list my new colleagues as one. I almost wanted to call you because I knew that you would come for me unconditionally but I could not do that." Sara shut her eyes closed, recoiled at her selfishness.

"I would drop everything to come for you. What stopped you?" Greg asked, gently.

"I fear I was not strong enough. I am afraid I would go back to Vegas. However I regretted not asking you. I need to have an emergency c-section. And I lost so much blood and almost die on that surgery table. I am so afraid that Gil would have no one to take care and she would lose her parents, both father and mother, on the first day of her life. And she will live her whole life in adoption or foster care, not knowing anything about her parents. That was when I regretted not telling you." A stray tear rolled down Sara's cheek.

"Well you survived, didn't you?" Greg cupped Sara's chin and brushed away the tear.

"Yes, I am glad that I survived. When I woke up, I was apprehensive about meeting her. There were millions of questions running through my mind. Is she healthy? Are there ten fingers and ten toes? Is everything okay for her? I cried when the nurse passed her to me. She's just perfect to me." Sara's lip curled up.

"Mummy… I want… water…" Gillian ran towards Sara, panting. Her dress was crumpled and dirty and hair in disarray. Sara sighed with happiness and passed Gillian's water bottle to her. She smoothed her hair and retied her pony tail when Gillian was taking huge gulps of water.

"Seriously, I never see you as a motherly woman."

"Well… I never thought that I can be a mother too." Sara said.

Gillian looked at Sara and Greg, a twinkle in her baby blue eyes, and a huge grin plastered on her face. Suddenly, she felt that she had a complete family, with Dada and Mummy.

xXx

Heather looked at the woman that was reflecting from the mirror. A bitter smile lingered on her face, the brows were furrowed together and the eyes were hallow and sad. She wondered why she did not feel what a typical bride would feel. A typical bride would be excited, blissful and jubilant; but she felt the opposite. And the worst was, she knew the reason why she was in this mood.

"You looked beautiful." Jerome Kessler commented when he entered the room. Heather turned to face her ex-husband, "I thought you were busy?" Jerome shrugged, "Ali wanted to come. And I thought I should come too. Who's walking you down the aisle?"

"Ah… I am walking down the aisle alone."

"Ah. I thought Grissom would get someone to walk you down."

Heather shook her head gently and gave a wry smile.

"You don't look happy." Jerome gave Heather a once over and noticed the sorrow that was displayed on Heather's face.

Heather walked over to the table, and poured a glass of gin for herself.

"I just found out my pregnancy was a false positive and I don't think Grissom wanted to marry me willingly and the worst, Grissom is a father and the mother is Sara." She drank the gin in one-shot.

xXx

"Dada, I am tired. Carry!" Gillian wrapped her small arms around Greg's leg, demanding to be carried. She wanted to show the world, she had a father, unlike what Joseph had said. Greg relented and scooped Gillian up. "Who's the best? Mummy or Dada?" Greg asked. "Dada!" Gillian shouted and wrapped her littler arms around Greg's neck.

"Hey!" Sara shot a murderous glance towards Greg.

"Little Chloe loved me more!" Greg stuck out his tongue and ran away with Gillian in his tight embrace. Greg had thought that calling Gillian as Gil was weird and asked Sara if Gillian had any middle name. And luckily for him, Gillian did. Chloe, it was to honor Sara's mentor wife who had been giving her all the help she needed when she was pregnant.

For the first time so long, a heartfelt smile can be seen on Sara's face.

xXx

The wedding march resounded in the church. The dark, mahogany double door was slowly pushed open and Heather walked into the church with Jerome beside her. He had offered to walk her down aisle. She needed the support and appreciate the thoughtful gesture.

Grissom looked at Heather walking towards slowly. Suddenly, he felt the dryness in his throat. He desperately wanted to run away. He did not want to go through this. He wanted to be in New York. His hand dug into the left front pocket and felt the photograph and the note Catherine had given him last week.

_"Sara's address in New York, I got Archie to hack into Greg's phone when he was not looking. I know you, Griss. Pursue your happiness." Catherine placed the note on his table. Sara's New York's address was written neatly in the middle of the note._

"Take good care of her." Jerome said, placing Heather's hand onto Grissom hands and stepped aside.

"I, Heather Kessler, take you, Gilbert Grissom to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life." Heather recited her vows, sending fleeting gazes towards Grissom.

Grissom looked at the Priest, then to Heather. And he realized he could not do this.

"I'm sorry." He gave Heather's hand a gentle squeeze.

"I could not do that." He said, simply.

"I had known since 3 years ago. I just do not want to let go because it was comforting to know that there will be someone. Go." Tears rolled down Heather's cheek. She could not control her tears. She did not want to cry, at least not in front of Grissom and their friends.

"Sorry."

With that, Grissom ran towards church exit as fast as legs could take him. He wanted to take the next available flight to New York now. He did not give a damn of a runaway groom commotion. This was the first right thing he had done after so long.

Catherine's hand extended towards Nick and demanded for her 100 bucks.

"I can't believe he just did a Juliet Robert. What the?" Nick rubbed his eyes, hoping that what he saw just now was just a figment of his imagination.

"Hey, at least this 100 bucks is worth it." Catherine just smiled.

xXx

"There's something on your face," Sara brushed something off Greg's forehead. Her action sent a jolt of electricity down Greg's body. He caught hold of her hand, "Sara… Do you think I can stay here and be Gillian's dada forever?"

Gillian tugged her mother's blouse, hoping that she would say yes. She wanted Dada to be with them forever.

Sara's eye widened and ignored Gillian tugging her blouse.

"Greg…"

"Sara, I am in love with you since I first met you. You may think I am just joking but I am not. Over these years, we had shared moments that were dear to me. And when I was attacked, you came for me, not for the scene. I mean we can take it slow. I can move over toNew York. I would love Chloe as mine. And even if you don't want to have another child, I am fine with it too." Greg spilled out what he had been keeping in his heart to Sara.

"Oh, Greg," Sara touched his face lovingly, tears in her eyes.

xxxxxxxx

The interweaving of the 4 characters all happened the same day, on Grissom's wedding day, as well as, Gillian's birthday.

Hmmm, next up is the epilogue. ;)


	12. Epilogue

The last paragraph of the last chapter was Greg confessing to Sara. He was willing to accept Gillian as his own. And Gillian's middle name was Chloe. Sorry, if I confused anyone. I will tie up some loose ends for the previous chapter in here.

Personally, I don't want to drag this story, thus, this epilogue is quite short. And do read my ending note! :D

**EPILOGUE**

The warm sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the partially open blinds. Roused by the sunlight, her eyes fluttered open slowly. She sat up and had a good stretch. She looked over to the other side of the bed and felt the side was cold.

"Gil?" she called. Her voice was a little hoarse. She felt the dryness in her throat.

"Mummy!" Gillian pushed open the door, and holding a glass of warm water. Sara took the glass of water and wrapped her daughter in a tight embrace. "Where did you go?" she asked.

"Breakfast!" she said, in a sing-song voice. "It's Mummy birthday today! I want to make breakfast for you!"

"Oh. Thanks." She hugged her daughter closer.

"Brush teeth!~" Gillian nudged free from Sara's hold. "Breakfast in 5 mins."

"Oh. You are the one who's cooking. I thought Gil wanted to." She wrapped her arms around the waist of her beloved.

"She helps to prepare the batter." He put a batch of freshly cooked pancakes on the plate.

"And can you stop calling her Gil. It's just plain weird." He frowned.

"How weird?" Sara teased.

"When you shout Gil, I don't know if I should response not. Are you calling me or calling Gillian?" Grissom turned around and enveloped Sara in his strong arms. "Can we just call her cupcake?" His head leaning on her shoulder and blowing warm air at Sara's ear.

"You're Griss. Not Gil."

"I want to be Gil."

Click.  
Snap.

Gillian took a photo of her daddy and mummy in a tight embrace with Sara's cellphone. Grissom beckoned Gillian to come over.

With one arm wrapping around Sara's shoulder, he stretched out his free arm out to take a family photo.

He planted a kiss top of Gillian's crown of the head. Next, he pressed his lips on Sara's tenderly, savoring her sweet taste.

"I love you, Sara."

"I love you, too."

"Now, will you be Mrs. Grissom officially?" He knelt down on one knee, and pulled out a velvety ring box from the apron.

* * *

**FLASHBACKS to the previous chapter. :)**

"_I can't Greg. I can't. I am sorry." Sara pulled out a chain that was hidden under her blouse. On the gold chain, there was a simple white gold ring adorned with a small princess cut solitaire. "I never returned the engagement ring he gave me. This was his grandmother's. It was passed down from mother to son or daughter. I don't think I can ever love anyone the same way I love Grissom. Even he's getting married today, my heart never stop loving him. I can't fool myself. The day I saw him at the Forensic Academy Conference, I knew he was the one. He can't be replaced in here." She pointed to her heart._

_Greg sighed and looked away._

"_Sorry." Sara apologized._

"_I am just fishing for luck. The link between Grissom and you is something I can't break." Greg smiled wryly. He knew that was no way to get in to her heart. _

* * *

_Grissom was still wearing his groom suit. He had rushed home to take his passport and forget to bring any clothing to change. He had been standing outside Sara's apartment building for the past 3 hours. And he was still building courage to walk up to her apartment and tell her the 3 words he should have told her 3 years ago. I love you. I want you. I need you._

_He wondered how he should start to explain. And he regretted not changing out of his suit. What would Sara think of him? Would she still accept him?_

"_Grissom?" Greg's surprise voice snapped him out of his thoughts._

_He turned. His eyes could only see Sara. _

"_Sara…" he missed her. He missed her so much._

"_Let's go for ice cream? Chloe" Greg suggested. He figured that these 2 persons who had been torturing each other for these few years, needed time to be alone, to sort things out. And he knew that Sara needed Grissom and Grissom had proven himself by running away from his wedding. _

_When they were alone, the atmosphere between the 2 of them was tense. He swallowed hard, thinking of what he should say. She just stood there, stunned. She missed his face and wanted to caress his face with her hand. He still had the magical effect on her after such a long period._

"_Can we start over again?" he walked over to her, and asked._

"_You ran away from your wedding?" Sara took a few steps behind when she saw Grissom approaching her. She knew that if Grissom was in close proximity, she would crumple._

"_I love you. I need you. I want you. I miss you. And yes, I ran away from my wedding to come for you." He caught hold of her, stopping her to move backwards. When he took her hands, they both felt a surge of electricity running through their veins. _

"_Will you forgive me, this old fool? The old fool who had let you slipped away 3 years ago? I came for you."_

"_I don't know." She replied weakly. "I am afraid."_

"_We can always start over again. This time round, I will be the one chasing you." Grissom cupped her chin, and looked straight into her brown eyes._

**THE END**

I know I had been keeping Grissom and Sara apart in this story. Honestly, I don't want to do that but I just felt after all these they went through, the ending with them together would be sweeter. I know it was not sweet enough. But at least it was a happy ending. Although they live together now but they are not officially married yet. I guess Sara (Or I) wanted to torture Grissom a little... I may start a story of their family life and Grissom's proposals. No more angst or hurt. I think I would. keep a lookout!

The flashbacks are to tie up the loose ends for the previous chapter. The last paragraph of the last chapter is about Greg confessing his love for Sara. He's such a great guy, right? But he knew that he was fishing for luck. He knew that what Sara and Grissom shared was unbreakable. Yes, they have been away from the 3 years but during the 3 years, they never stopped loving each other. They, however, was bounded by their commitments, pride and foolishness.

I never wanted to portray Grissom as he was in this story but I felt that sometimes we fell short and did things that were unacceptable and had to live with it. Heather was an example for Grissom. He had hurt her pretty badly for asking her to abort their child (but her medical condition did not allow her to carry the child to full term) and using her as a float. One word to describe him, coward. He simply did not want to leave the comfort of his own cocoon. Following Sara would force him to leave his comfort zone and he didn't want to. But I am glad I make him run away from his wedding. This forced him out of his comfort zone, not knowing if Sara would ever accept him again.

But hey! At least I finished this story. I never thought I would actually finish this. Partly I think it was the lack of support but thanks to stlouiegal, she (I assumed you are a she) managed to motivate me to finish this. Thanks! :)

And lastly, thanks to all who took their time to leave a review! You are loved. In the meanwhile, do click on my profile link to find a WIP story {Sadism of the Devil}. Its GSR with a case file. And someone from Sara's past is back to haunt them. :D.

take care loves!


	13. Sander's Special

**Sander's Special**

Greg drew his scarf around his neck closer and rubbed his palm together. The New York's winter air is chilly. He looked up at the Empire State Building and felt melancholy. He had wanted to visit this place with Sara and Gillian but he felt like an intruder now. Grissom had run away from his wedding and came to patch things up with Sara. Sara was afraid but he could feel the thick walls being slowly demolished. He was happy for her. He wished her all the best. And he knew that with the Sara door closed, he could finally have the courage to look for someone new.

He had a crush on Sara when he first met her and that involved into something deeper. Something likes love. And sometimes loving someone means giving her everything and wished for nothing back. He loved her and he hoped that she would find happiness with Grissom and Gillian. He wanted to stay with them but he knew that Sara and Grissom needed times to sort things out.

"Hey." He heard a sweet voice. He turned around and found the owner of the sweet voice. She was petite, a heart shaped face, almond eyes and long wavy blonde tresses.

"Are you talking to me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes. My friend over there, that brunette, wanted to have your phone number. She, uhm, thinks you are attractive." She smiled, nervously.

"Oh." Greg looked towards the direction and saw a brunette giggling silly and hiding behind another girlfriend.

"I am not interested in brunette. Help me to say sorry to your friend." Greg gave his boyish grin.

"Oh, are you interested in blonde?" she asked, shifting her gaze to her black mary-jane.

"I… am… Morgan Brody."

"Greg Sanders, Las Vegas," he held out his hand.

"I'm from LA. I came here for a visit with my friend. And I was the one who thought that you are attractive. My brunette friend is just a ruse." A red hue crept on to her cheeks as she took his hand.

"Are you interested in touring the Empire State Building together?" he asked.

"Yes!" she beamed.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Alrighty, I had officially ended this fiction. I just could not bear my Greggo being so sad or left hanging in the air. This is a short chapter to let you all know Greg would have someone to tour the Empire State Building! :) Anyway, I am not from USA, so thus, I am not sure if you can tour the Empire State Building. I had never been to America but I wish I will one day!

Oh, please do leave a review if you want more Greg's action. I wanted to start something for him. He's my eyecandy! I am looking forward to CSI S13 for more of him.

Do jump over to my fiction 'Sweet Treats Of Their Life' for more GSR and little Gillian. And who knows, perhaps Greg and Morgan may make an appearance together too! And leave your love over there. And if you prefer dark theme, Sadism of the Devil might suit you!

Yeay! and officially, I am announcing this is the end of this.

Throw me some Sanders' fiction! =D

Thanks loves. :D


End file.
